Making carriage style garage doors

I am wondering if any of you have ever tried dressing up a plian
garage door to look like one of the expensive carriage house type doors. I'd like to do that, and am just wondering if I could use the nice veneer paneling along with trim boards, and decorative handles. If so, do I need to glue and screw to make them last?
Any input would be appreciated.

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Making carriage style garage doors

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jill

I am wondering if any of you have ever tried dressing up a plian
garage door to look like one of the expensive carriage house type doors. I'd like to do that, and am just wondering if I could use the nice veneer paneling along with trim boards, and decorative handles. If so, do I need to glue and screw to make them last?
Any input would be appreciated.

OK guys, I've been waiting for quite some time for a response. It's hard to believe that nobody out there has ever wanted to make thier garage doors look better than a plain metal one.

Making carriage style garage doors

Hello Jill,

Yes one of our chipies has done this with a solid metal front door.
It is best to use thin strips of timber or a single sheet of ply that is decorated. What he basically did is made two thin replicas of the doors dimension (shaker style) that cladded both sides of the door. Light weight timber is the key here & bolted with the panels glued straight through the door. This was done as the customer wanted the security of a metal core in the door & to good effect.

Best Regards

British Building

Last edited by Nathan; 05-25-2005 at 04:24 PM.
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Making carriage style garage doors

Yes, it can be done. There are kits you can buy, or just get your brain going on it. Skin it with 1/4 inch ply, add a trim board to that. you can get some nice looks that way. Just make sure that your tracks and opener can handle the extra weight.

Making carriage style garage doors

It can be done, and you can use regular dimensional lumber to do it. Things to keep in mind are that you will also require a new spring, and the tracks will have to be adjusted to allow for the additional thickness of the door.

Making carriage style garage doors

My cousin made carriage style doors and kept her original garage door. She built in just outside the original garage doors like you would build a double swinging gate and she screened it too so she could have the comfort of the breezes and still have the security of her garage door. it looks great.